I got my new coyote calls and wanted to try them out, I have been practicing (listening to a tape and making the same sounds) so I take my SKS and my calls and go out. There is a place not too far from my home that I have seen coyotes so I start calling, I am in the middle of no place sitting in my truck, off in the distance coming over the hill I see movment. I get out of my truck and called again, the movment heads my way, I lay across the hood and look thru my scope....Yep a coyote....about 150yds away...I get my coat and layed it acroos the hood and got the coyote in my sights again...it was getting closer....I put my finger on the trigger and....all ofa sudden this guy pulls up on a dirt bike and asks me.
".Hey what time is it", I just looked at him, then he asks "oh...are you target shooting? " I said no I was going to shoot that coyote pointing at the back end going over the hill. The dirt biker tells me, "oh we ran a bunch of them out of here this morning"....I put my rifle in the truck and went home...

This was BLM land...I was just making a point ...he rode up and stopped in front of my rifle, I was getting ready to make a shot.

Really, you never stated that the guy stopped in front of your rifle as you were getting ready to take your shot.

Quote:

I get my coat and layed it acroos the hood and got the coyote in my sights again...it was getting closer....I put my finger on the trigger and....all ofa sudden this guy pulls up on a dirt bike and asks me.
".Hey what time is it", I just looked at him, then he asks "oh...are you target shooting? " I said no I was going to shoot that coyote pointing at the back end going over the hill. The dirt biker tells me, "oh we ran a bunch of them out of here this morning"....I put my rifle in the truck and went home...

I thought that by the description of the events, you were referring to youself, hence you packed up and went home. After all, how much poorer could your situational awareness be that a guy on a dirt bike can ride up and you not realize what is going on until he asks you the time. Talk about target fixation. No doubt such things have happened to most of us. The problem is most of us don't realize how bad we are doing and that shooting at that time really isn't going to be in anyone's best interest if we want to remain safe.

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"If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011
My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

Here in California, our hunting regulations clearly state that is it illegal for anyone to interfere with anyone that is legally hunting. This is suppose to keep the loonies from scaring away game. I don't know if your situation would have qualified under that law. You should look to see what your state's game regs have in regards to this.

that was gay, dad was telling me in the way early morning hours one morning during doe season, there was a a herd of does in the field above the road on the land we hunt, its a fairly high traffic road.

Any ways, he got behind a dip on the hill and crawled for a few minutes till he got to the end of the dip and could see the deer. he was getting a rest off his back pack when a van stopped and figured out what was about to go down, and started blowing the horn and ran them all off.

That woulda ticked me off more then any thing in the world, they are lucky dad has some brains cause if they had done that in the boonies the rifle would have probably been pointed at them.

roy, I'd bet that messing up someody's hunt has to be a wilful and deliberate thing in order to take any legal action. The motorcycle guy wasn't obvious as to intent, beyond just wanting to know the time. Sure, he might have thought, "I'll mess up his deal," but you'd never prove it.

Face it, BLM land is open to everybody. Doofi have as much right as smart folks...

Art

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Should have told that guy to get a Timex. That would have ticked me off too. Was pretty stupid if he pulled up in front of the rifle. Hunter harassment is on the rise and the antis will try anything these days.

The guy on the motorcycle may have excersized poor judgement in riding up in front of your gun, but unless you could nail him for harrassing a hunter, he really didn't do anything wrong.

On the other hand, in your post you admit you were calling coyotes (hunting) from your truck, and firing from your truck as well, BOTH of which ARE against the law in the state of Arizona (Arizona Revised Statute, Article 17-301, section B).

If you were on a road, tack on a third violation as well (shooting from or across a road, also illegal in Arizona)

The guy on the motorcycle may have excersized poor judgement in riding up in front of your gun, but unless you could nail him for harrassing a hunter, he really didn't do anything wrong.

Yes, he did. He exercised poor judgment (as you indicate). Just because he didn't do anything *legally* wrong doesn't mean he's not an idgit for molesting the man's hunt. Once he saw that a rifle was being employed, it should have gone without saying to do an immediate about-face and get away, IMO. No, not illegal; but nonetheless annoying.

Every body does some stupid stuff every now and then. How many times do you suppose, any of us has been stalking, and whether we knew it or not, passed into someone's shooting lane. None of us would do it on purpose, but it happens. I can't tell you how many times over the years that my hunting has been disturbed by guys walking around not paying any attention to what they are doing.

You can get Mad and upset, or mouthy, and let it ruin your whole days hunt, OR you can chalk it up to hapstance, and get over it.

Sounds like Buz handled it okay. He held his fire at the right moment. Didn't loose his cool talking to the guy that blocked his shot when he was poised and ready to fire. He chalked it up as "unsuccessful" this time and went back home. Keep practicing the calls though, looks like that part worked!

Is it wrong to use a vehicle for support while hunting (if it isn't on a road)? To me hunting "from a vehicle" means shooting from the cab through an open window or door, or from in the pickup bed, or maybe even while sitting on the edge of the pickup bed or tailgate.

Y'all need to remember that there's no open public land in Texas for hunting: Used to be, game regulations said you couldn't shoot from inside your vehicle. Drive the ranch roads, okay; but you had to exit the truck in order to shoot.

Most all post-WW II trucks' door latches go, "Clack!" when you open the door, and Bambi doesn't like that noise and quite often practices being elsewhere. My father's chuckle about his old 1941 Ford was that the sliding tongue of the latch was silent. My father being my father, the latch and hinges were always oiled.

They relaxed the regulations, so now when you're jeeping around a ranch and see something, just go on and shoot. Common sense, really; how's a warden gonna patrol some guy's ranch roads?

Art

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Just to clear up a few things, I used the call from sitting in my truck, rifle was uloaded, then when I saw the coyote I got out of the truck and leanded across the hood, I was on an animal path not a public road and it was about 1/2 mile from any roads.....
now according to the Game and Fish officer I talked to he said what I did was just fine as long as no shots was fired from inside my vehicle.

I do plan on hunting coyotes more and more but not in that same area, I will find a more secluded place and hope to be alone there.....
If nothing else I know my calling worked and that was my reason for going out in the first place.

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